Which Indian political leader addressed a special session in 2025 on…

Concept: A multilateral summit holds its plenary sessions at the level of Heads of State or Heads of Government, while ministers lead their country in the parallel ministerial-track meetings that match their own portfolio. That convention narrows down who is likely to speak in a named plenary session, but it does not settle the question by itself, because a country may designate another representative. The speaker for a specific session is therefore established from the official record of that event — the host’s published programme and the speaking government’s own release.

Application: "Environment, COP-30, and Global Health" was the title of a plenary session of the 17th BRICS Summit, hosted by Brazil at Rio de Janeiro on 6-7 July 2025. The BRICS Brasil programme lists that session on 7 July 2025, and the Prime Minister’s Office record of the Indian statement delivered in it names Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the speaker. He spoke there on climate finance, sustainable development and cooperation on global health.

Cross-check: The three other names are Union Ministers, and no official record of that summit places any of them as the speaker in that session:

• Piyush Goyal — Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, whose BRICS engagements run through the trade ministers’ track.

• Hardeep Puri — Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, whose BRICS engagements run through the energy ministers’ track.

• S. Jaishankar — Union Minister of External Affairs, who was part of the delegation at Rio; the foreign ministers’ track is separate from the leaders’ plenary.

Answer: Narendra Modi addressed the session.